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☆ Sweden is in the final stretch to NATO membership. But Turkey could yet derail it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrives for a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 29, 2022. With much at stake for Turkey, Sweden, and the NATO alliance, whichever direction Turkey moves in will have significant consequences for them all. "Turkey's blockade on Sweden's NATO progression isn't a clear-cut ticket to economic fallout, but it is playing with fire," said Guney Yildiz, a researcher focused on Turkey and Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday. "Either Turkey approves Sweden's NATO membership at Vilnius or it risks a major break in relations with the West and at a time when Turkey's macro is on the edge.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Doce, —, Joe Biden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Washington, Erdogan, Biden, Ryan Bohl, Rane, Guney, Syria Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Kamal Alam, Christine Olsson, Alam, Guney Yildiz, Yildiz, Timothy Ash, Ash Organizations: NATO, Reuters NATO, Nordic, Ankara, Turkish, East, CNBC, Russia, Kurdish Workers ' Party, Atlantic Council, Kurdish Democratic Society Center, Afp, Getty, ISIS, EU, Anadolu Agency, BlueBay Asset Management, West Locations: Madrid, Spain, Vilnius, Lithuania, Sweden, Turkey, Hungary, EU, Ankara, Turkish, North Africa, Finland, Ukraine, Russia, Syria, Moscow, Kyiv, Stockholm, Kurdish, Europe, East Syria

☆ Exclusive: VTB to sell one of Russia's biggest grain traders, Demetra-Holding, CEO Kostin says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, June 9 (Reuters) - VTB, Russia's second largest bank, will sell its stake in one of Russia's biggest grain traders, Demetra-Holding, and is in negotiations with both Russian and foreign buyers, CEO Andrei Kostin told Reuters in an interview. Demetra has a network of grain elevators, major deep sea grain terminals and its own logistics. It owns a non controlling stake in major grain trader United Grain Company (OZK). It's decided," Kostin told Reuters. Kostin said VTB saw few prospects for itself in the grain business, adding that a sanctioned bank in the shareholding hindered the holding.

Persons: Andrei Kostin, Demetra, VTB, It's, Kostin, Vadim Moshkovich, Guy Faulconbridge, Elena Fabrichnaya Organizations: Reuters, United Grain Company, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, China

The latest surge of dark fleet ships began after Russia invaded Ukraine and the West tried to limit Moscow’s oil revenue with sanctions. The ships most likely sell their Russian oil to China above a price limit set by the sanctions. “The price cap is achieving its dual goals: restricting Russia’s oil revenues while keeping Russian oil flowing, and markets stable and well-supplied,” a U.S. Treasury spokesperson told The Times. The spoofing tankers using American insurance show that the practice is not limited to Russian oil alone. The company, Gatik Ship Management, owns a fleet of 50 newly acquired tankers dedicated to the Russian oil trade, the report said.

Persons: ”, David Tannenbaum, it’s, Samir Madani, Daniel Tadros, Russia Lady Ella, Russia Snow, Price, Konstantin Zavrazhin, Tannenbaum, Mr, Tadros, what’s, Min Chao Choy Organizations: Cathay, Labs, Copernicus Sentinel, Maxar Technologies, The New York Times, The Times, U.S . Treasury, Times, American Club, Club’s, Alma, Cargo, Russia Cathay Phoenix, Hong, International Maritime Organization, American, ”, AIS, telltale, Treasury’s, Foreign, Control, Maritime, C4ADS, Gatik Ship Management Locations: Japan, Kozmino, China, U.S, Russia, Venezuela, Iran, Ukraine, ”, Hong Kong, Niigata, Russia Ginza, Varna, Bulgaria, Taman, Niigata Port, Siberia, Cathay Phoenix, O.F.A.C, South Korea, Washington, Ginza, Oman, India

☆ EU will go easy on Indian resale of Russian fuel
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Yet, the risk of an energy inflation resurgence makes a European Union ban on Russian oil reselling a tough call. The war in Ukraine has offered India an opportunity to boost purchases of discounted Russian oil. European imports of oil derivatives jumped to 200,000 barrels per day after the EU banned Russian crude products imports on Feb. 5 from 154,000 barrels previously, according to Kpler data. And New Delhi argues oil products substantially transformed in a third country cannot be subject to EU sanctions. loadingTo avoid an open clash with India, the EU could try to target European companies buying Russian-origin refined oil.

☆ Live updates: Russia's war in ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Heather Chen | Andrew Raine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The move is in response to the "regularly anti-Russian sanctions" imposed by the US administration, according to a statement from Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. Hours earlier, at the Group of Seven summit, the Biden administration unveiled new sanctions targeting Moscow for its war in Ukraine. An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine claims the explosions took place at a base for Moscow's forces. US diplomatic appointment: US President Joe Biden formally nominated James O'Brien to serve as the top State Department official for European affairs — a key role for guiding Washington's response to Russia's war in Ukraine. NATO developments: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told CNN he is still not prepared to support Sweden's NATO membership, repeating his claim that Stockholm has allowed terrorist organizations to harbor in the country.

CNN —Former United States President Barack Obama, late night television host Stephen Colbert, and CNN’s Erin Burnett are some of the “500 Americans” Russia has banned from entering the country. The list includes Obama, former US Ambassador Jon Huntsman, several US senators and the next expected chairman of the joint chiefs Charles Q. The rambling list of names also includes American late night TV hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Colbert, and Seth Meyers. Friday’s list also includes CNN Anchor Erin Burnett and is an update of a previously published longer list of sanctioned individuals that includes CNN’s Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, CNN contributors Bianna Golodryga and Timothy Naftali. While the list was labelled, “500 Americans,” Paton Walsh is a British citizen.

☆ UK targets grain theft and energy sector with new Russian sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - Britain announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia on Friday, targeting companies connected to the theft of Ukrainian grain and those involved in the shipment of Russian energy. Britain said in a statement that it was sanctioning 86 individuals and entities as part of a new crackdown on what it called "shady individuals and entities" connected to the theft and resale of Ukrainian grain. The sanctions would also target Russia's major energy and arms shipping companies, including those connected to Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom, and the owner of the Russian Copper Company, Igor Altushkin. The designations came after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced new import bans on Russian diamonds and copper, aluminium and nickel. Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"The international community is at a crossroads in history," Prime Minister Kishida told a briefing following his more than hour-long meeting with Biden. Japan, although a longtime buyer of Russian oil, has moved in tandem with G7 sanctions against Moscow following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. That military action has also raised fears among Japanese that China could be emboldened to take action against neighbouring, self-ruled Taiwan unless Russia is stopped. TIGHTEN SANCTIONSThe G7 will aim to tighten sanctions on Russia to prevent it skirting measures already in place, Germany's leader, Olaf Scholz, said on Thursday. Kishida later said he and Biden had agreed to continue "strict sanctions against Russia as well strong support for Ukraine".

Companies Binance Holdings Ltd FollowMay 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Binance Holdings was illegally used to let Russians skirt U.S. sanctions and move money through the cryptocurrency exchange, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Regulators globally have long called for tighter controls on crypto exchanges including Binance, the world's largest, to prevent illegal activities - from money laundering to the financing of terrorism. The recent seizures by Israel's NBCTF also highlight how governments are targeting crypto companies in their efforts to prevent illegal activity. Binance and the DoJ did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Reporting by Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Senior officials from the United States, Europe and Britain met on Thursday with financial institutions to brief them on efforts by Russia to evade Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, a senior U.S. Treasury official told reporters. The firms - from the United States, Britain and Europe - assured the officials that they were working hard to avert Russian efforts to evade sanctions and export controls, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Washington on Wednesday imposed sanctions on over 120 targets, including entities linked to Russian state-held energy company Rosatom and firms based in partner nations like Turkey in a sign of stepped-up enforcement. Treasury's top sanctions official, Undersecretary Brian Nelson, will visit Switzerland next week to discuss further moves to crack down on sanctions evasion, with additional stops in Italy, Austria and Germany, Reuters reported last week. Elizabeth Rosenberg, Treasury's assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crime, will travel separately to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan found the defendant AirBridgeCargo Airlines LLC and its parent Volga-Dnepr Logistics BV liable, after the invasion and resulting sanctions left the plaintiff BOC Aviation unable to reclaim the aircraft. BOC Aviation said AirBridgeCargo went into default after being unable to maintain required reinsurance coverage. This followed restrictions imposed by the European Union against Russian carriers on aircraft used in Russia, and Russian sanctions on foreign assets, including internationally leased aircraft. BOC Aviation said it was able to recover one leased plane and two of its four engines, while the two other planes and two other engines remained in Russia. The case is BOC Aviation Ltd v AirBridgeCargo Airlines LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Canadian Olympians among 333 banned from entering Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Some of Canada's best known athletes, including Olympic gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Hayley Wickenheiser, have been included on a list of 333 Canadians banned from entering Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Most of the athletes on the list are retired Canadian Olympians who signed a letter last month urging the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to support a ban of Russia and Belarus from taking part at the 2024 Paris Summer Games unless Russia withdraws from Ukraine. The sanctions are mostly symbolic, with Russia banned from hosting major sporting events and Canadian athletes having no reason to travel to the country. Others on the list barred from entering Russia include the Governor General of Canada Mary Simon and members of the Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia provincial legislatures. Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan found the defendant AirBridgeCargo Airlines LLC and its parent Volga-Dnepr Logistics BV liable, after the invasion and resulting sanctions left the plaintiff BOC Aviation unable to reclaim the aircraft. A lawyer for Singapore-based BOC Aviation had no immediate comment, having yet to hear from his client. BOC Aviation said AirBridgeCargo went into default after being unable to maintain required reinsurance coverage. BOC Aviation said it was able to recover one leased plane and two of its four engines, while the two other planes and two other engines remained in Russia. The case is BOC Aviation Ltd v AirBridgeCargo Airlines LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ This is not another banking crisis, analysts say — it's 'sentiment contagion' instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"It was more of a 'sentiment contagion' rather than the true systemic contagion we saw during the global financial crisis. Vanguard economists believe that the damage has been largely contained, thanks to the quick action of federal agencies and other banks," Devereux said. The bank launched a huge restructuring effort in 2019 and has since posted 10 straight quarters of profit. "We've seen a lot of stuff breaking and haven't really been paying attention because it's been outside of regulated capital. For the core, the big cap banks in Europe, I think we're looking at a completely different picture and I wouldn't be concerned."

☆ Russia and China are being driven together as the chasm with the West deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

"It's basically about certain strategic interests, that are very close to both Beijing and Moscow at this point," she added. "For both Russia and China, the main interest is to weaken the U.S.-led international order, that's their primary goal, long term and short term." The Ukraine factorFor both China and Russia, the war in Ukraine is both a challenge to that U.S.-led world order and a way to undermine it, analysts note. China has held back from openly supporting Russia's war in Ukraine but it has also refused to condemn the invasion. This fear, she said, could sway China when it considers whether to offer Putin help in Ukraine.

☆ Analysis: Russian sanctions shift oil price-making power to Asia from Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Alex Lawler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Western Sanctions have led Russia to sell more than twice as much crude to Asia in the year to January, according to Kpler data. Iran, under U.S. sanctions, has boosted exports to the highest in three years on some estimates, with China the biggest buyer. Hardeep Singh Puri, India's oil minister, said in early February the country will keep buying from Russia if prices "continue to be good". EUROPE LOSES SUPPLY SOURCEIndia was among those to have complained about the Asian premium they paid to the big exporters. "These normal sorts of patterns of Asian premium or discount don't really apply," he said.

☆ Justice Department Hiring Dozens of New Prosecutors to Enforce Russian Sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Dylan Tokar | Ian Talley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The new prosecutors will work with corporations to investigate sanctions and export control evasion, and also bring criminal charges against companies when they commit violations, he said. Some of the additional prosecutors are new hires, while some are being reallocated from different sections, according to officials. The U.A.E.’s enforcement of sanctions differs between the emirates, officials say, as the separate governments treat the sanctions with varying degrees of compliance. For their part, Justice Department officials have pointed to a growing nexus between their work on corporate crime and national security. In addition to hiring more prosecutors, Mr. Olsen said the counterintelligence section would also hire a lawyer to advise on investigations involving corporations.

The United States joined with G7 allies with plans to impose sanctions that will target 200 individuals and entities and a dozen Russian financial institutions. They planned to form an "Enforcement Coordination Mechanism," at first chaired by the United States, to counter Russian efforts to circumvent the sanctions. The sanctions are aimed at targets in Russia and "third-country actors" across Europe, Asia and the Middle East that are supporting Russia's war effort, the White House said in a fact sheet. "We will sanction additional actors tied to Russia's defense and technology industry, including those responsible for backfilling Russian stocks of sanctioned items or enabling Russian sanctions evasion," it said. Biden was also set to sign proclamations to raise tariffs on Russian products imported to the United States.

☆ U.S., allies to tighten screws on Russian sanctions evasion -Treasury's Adeyemo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Adeyemo said a coalition of more than 30 countries would crack down on Russia's purchases of dual-use goods like refrigerators to secure semiconductors needed for its military. The sanctions would also seek to do more to stem the transshipment of oil and other restricted goods through bordering countries, although he did not give details. Officials would also warn companies and individuals still doing business with Russia that they faced sanctions if they continued doing so. They were also providing "actionable" intelligence to countries, including several of Russia’s neighbors, to enable them to stamp out sanctions evasion. Adeyemo acknowledged that Russia's economic data appeared better than expected at the start of the war, but said Western sanctions were forcing the Kremlin to use limited resources to prop up its economy.

[1/4] Air India passenger aircraft are seen on the tarmac at Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport in Mumbai, India, February 14, 2023. REUTERS/Francis MascarenhasBENGALURU, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Air India has agreed to buy 250 jets from Airbus (AIR.PA), part of a mammoth deal for 470 planes, as the carrier heralds a decades-long transformation under its new owners, Tata Group. The deal is expected to also include an order for 220 planes from Airbus rival Boeing (BA.N), Reuters reported. "We see this moment as the most significant moment for the Tata Group's Air India, Indian aviation and the manufacturing sector in India," he said. Reuters in December reported that Air India was in negotiations for a deal close to 500 planes.

☆ U.S. Treasury to crack down on Russian sanctions evasion - Adeyemo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department will focus in coming months on cracking down on facilitators and third-country providers helping Russia evade Western sanctions, Treasury said on Friday. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told a meeting of academics and other experts on sanctions and U.S. foreign policy that Treasury will increase its focus on countering sanctions evasion, including by those who may "wittingly or unwittingly" help Russia replenish supplies needed for its military fighting in Ukraine. Treasury provided no immediate details on which "facilitators and third-party providers" would be targeted. The Treasury earlier this month imposed sanctions on 22 individuals and entities in multiple countries that it accused of being tied to a global sanctions evasion network supporting Russia's military-industrial complex. Reporting by Andrea Shalal; additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chevron Explores Algerian Gas Plans Amid Russian Sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Benoit Faucon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chevron is hoping to leverage technologies developed in U.S. shale in Algeria, say people familiar with the matter. Oil giant Chevron Corp. is looking to seal an energy exploration deal with Algeria, as the North African country steps up efforts to replace sanctioned Russian supplies in nearby Europe, according to people familiar with the matter. Over the past decade, U.S. companies have pulled back from operations in oil-and-gas-rich Middle Eastern and African countries they viewed as politically risky to focus on booming shale production at home.

☆ Turkey's lira slips to fresh record low, stocks tumble
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira hit a fresh record low and its stock markets tumbled on Monday as a major earthquake added to pressures from a strong dollar, geopolitical risks and surprise inflation readings out of the country. The lira slipped to 18.85 , in early trade before retracing most of its losses. More than 500 people were killed and thousands injured on Monday, after a major earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria. But Turkey is feeling additional pressures. "A new window of FX volatility could be around the corner."

☆ Top U.S., Chinese and Russian officials tour Africa as global charm offensive gathers pace
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Janet Yellen, US Treasury secretary, during a news conference with Enoch Godongwana, South Africa's finance minister, at the National Treasury in Pretoria, South Africa, on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. Yellen met with South African officials including President Cyril Ramaphosa last week, just days after the country's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor stood alongside Lavrov and vowed to strengthen bilateral relations between Pretoria and Moscow. South Africa was one of 17 African nations to abstain from the U.N. vote in March to condemn Russia's war of aggression. As such, many African nations desire a strong relationship with both the U.S. and China, and U.S. diplomacy will be more effective when not framed as an "us-or-them" proposition. What's more, the BRI projects were "largely uncoordinated and unplanned," he said, with competing Chinese lenders offering credit to African nations, challenging the notion of a coherent centralized "debt trap" policy from Beijing.

☆ Volunteers who used digital ads to counter Russian propaganda about Ukraine plan to fight misinformation in countries like Syria and Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A group of volunteer 'spammers' who used ads to counter Russian propaganda about Ukraine plans to expand the campaign. Rob Blackie, organizer of the Breaking Putin's Censorship campaign. Earlier this month, the Kremlin said that anyone found simply posting a link to the banned independent Russian news site Meduza could face a six-year prison sentence. An example of one of the Breaking Putin's Censorship ads, which reads, "Why have 141 countries condemned Russians invasion of Ukraine? Breaking Putin's CensorshipThe group, which has now grown to around 60 volunteers, is already structured similarly to an ad agency.

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